The refusal to release this information makes Colorado one of just 15 states that keep this type of police officer data secret, according to a nationwide reporting project, preventing the press and public from adequately monitoring the state’s oversight of wandering or second-chance officers.
A Court of Appeals opinion keeping Colorado’s database of law enforcement officers confidential “creates a gaping hole” in the Colorado Open Records Act and broadens the scope of the criminal justice records law “beyond recognition,” two news organizations contend in a certiorari petition submitted to the Colorado Supreme Court.
Gov. Jared Polis’ signature on Senate Bill 23-286 will change the Colorado Open Records Act in some small but important ways when the measure takes effect in early August. Here are some things to know about what the CORA bill does — and does not do.
Despite a looming inflationary increase in fees, state lawmakers in the 2023 legislative session never addressed the often-high cost of obtaining public records in Colorado but did vote to eliminate some nagging obstacles for users of the Colorado Open Records Act.
Colorado’s Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) board is a criminal justice agency, and it did not abuse its discretion by denying two news organizations’ requests for the state’s database of certified and decertified law enforcement officers, the Colorado Court of Appeals decided.
A CORA modernization bill passed a Colorado Senate committee with lawmakers adding a provision that prohibits state agencies and local governments from requiring requesters to show identification to obtain public records.
Lawyers argued in the Colorado Court of Appeals over whether Colorado’s Peace Officer Standards and Training board is a criminal justice agency or an agency subject to the Colorado Open Records Act.
Legislation requiring the deletion of all juvenile victim and witness names from police and court records before the records are released to the public won unanimous approval in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The names of child victims and witnesses would be removed from criminal justice records before the records are released to the public if legislation introduced by two state senators becomes law.
But a year after House Bill 21-1250 was signed into law, reporters still can’t tune into Denver and Aurora police radio transmissions like they did before both agencies blocked public access — Denver in 2019 and Aurora three years earlier. Although each department has a written policy on radio access, neither has reached an agreement with any Denver metro news organizations.
